1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a storage device system connectable on a plurality of different kinds of networks, and a method for controlling fault information concerning the storage device system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an amount of data dealt with in a computer system has rapidly increased. In order to efficiently utilize and manage a mass of data, a technology has been developed for connecting a plurality of disk array systems (hereinafter storage device systems) to information processing units over a leased network (storage area network (SAN)), and for realizing fast access to a large amount of data stored in the storage device systems. For the connection of the storage device systems to the information processing units over the SAN and the realization of fast data transfer, it is a matter of common practice to construct a network using communication equipment conformable to a Fibre Channel protocol.
On the other hand, a network system called a network attached storage (NAS) has been developed in efforts to realize access on a file level to a storage device system while interconnecting a plurality of storage device systems and information processing units over a network conformable to the transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP). In the NAS, a device having a facility of a file system is connected to each of the storage device systems. Therefore, the information processing units can access the storage device systems on a file level. In particular, a large-scale NAS that is managed in the redundant arrays of inexpensive disks (RAID) mode and provides an enormous storage resource called a midrange-class or enterprise-class resource is attracting notice these days.
However, the conventional NAS is realized by connecting information processing units, which have the ability to communication data according to the TCP/IP and a facility of a file system, to storage device systems devoid of the ability to communication data according to the TCP/IP and the facility of the file system. A space where the information processing units are installed is therefore needed. Moreover, the information processing units and storage device systems are usually interconnected over the SAN because of the necessity of fast communications. Therefore, dedicated communication control equipment and communication control facilities are needed.